Drunken Lifeline
by TwoRebels
Summary: Its been 3 years and still she's the one he calls.  Will the drunken slurs turn into friendship, flirting, or fights? D/S  A short story about reuniting in a beautiful, sexy, and possibly problematic way.
1. Chapter 1

It's said over and over that you can drink your problems away. The number one cure to a broken heart is supposed to be at the bottom of every bottle.

I can tell you firsthand, that's all a lie.

I fell out of my favorite bar that was just outside Brooklyn.  
I had just detached myself from another crazy hot girl and the cool night air felt amazing on my face. I managed to stumble to the nearest lamp post and leaned on it for support.

I was drunk. Completely smashed, just like almost every other night of my life. I had spent another night drinking and dancing with random people. Every time I came here I would get hammered then get a room upstairs, and sometimes take a girl with me.

But why was today different? What had made me leave the bar, the alcohol, the girls behind? Today was my anniversary. Exactly three years ago my life had become living hell. Three years ago I let her walk away. Three years ago I became a coward and an alcoholic.

Usually I could distract myself at the bar. I'd either drink so much I couldn't think, or focus all my attention on whatever girl was interested. But not tonight. Tonight she was all I could think about.

After a few minutes of standing alone I realized I needed to get a ride home. I fumbled in my pockets for enough money to get at taxi. Nothing.

"Dammit," I mumbled when all I could find in my pocket was my phone.

I stared at my phone. Who would come get me? Who would get out of bed in the middle of the night to pick up a drunk ex-star student/writer? No one in my family, none of my friends...but she would.

And it was with that thought that I started calling a number I never would have called if I was sober.

"Hello?" her angelic voice answered.

"Hey," I mumbled, "I need you?"

"Wh-what?"

"M drunk," I slurred, "Pleeese comegetme."

I could only hope that she would understand my impaired speech.

"Don't move," she demanded.

What the hell was I doing? All it took was one phone call and I was leaving a party to go save him. This was crazy!

I didn't even have time to think about it. It didn't take me long to get there. And without even asking him I knew where he'd be.

I parked in the first open space I found and got out to hurry down the sidewalk.

My hair was curled and half pulled up. I was wearing a nice, tight, black dress and my red heels clicked on the sidewalk as I walked along. I clutched my red purse in anticipation as I hurried towards him.

I turned the corner and I could not only see, but hear his favorite bar. I took just a few more steps before his silhouette came into view.

I would recognize that silhouette anywhere. Even slumped against a lamp post in the middle of the night. My breath caught in my throat and my heart was beating out of control. I had frozen in place 20 feet from him, and he was to out of it to notice me.

I continued to watch as he reached into his pants pocket. Something metal slipped through his fingers and hit the ground.

"Shit," I heard him mumbled, from where I was.

He proceeded to pick up what I now realized was a lighter. He flicked it quickly with his thumb and lit a cigarette. He shoved the lighter back in his pocket and put the cigarette between his lips.

Shock and disappointment ran through me. What had happened to him?

The sight of him standing there smoking brought me back to reality. I quickly covered the last 20 feet between us.

Without a word I came up behind him and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. I threw it on the ground and stamped it out with my heel.

"Hey what the hell are you - "

He broke off when he saw it was me.

"S," he breathed, "You came."

"Of course I came Dan."

He looked shocked, and relieved, and happy all at the same time.

I looked him over starting at his old shoes. They were followed by a loose-ish pair of jeans. And of course a tight gray v-neck that clung to every muscle in his chest. The shirt was covered slightly by a worn blue cardigan. My eyes then landed on his face. There were evident black bags under his bloodshot eyes. I could see lipstick smeared on the corner of his mouth. His perfect hair was a total mess. He was as gorgeous as ever.

"Serena I didn't know what ta do," he mumbled, "I'm drunk."

"I know you are Dan," I said kindly.

"Say that again."

"What?" I asked.

"Dan."  
"Come on Dan," I said, "I need to get you home."

"You're beautiful," he whispered as his eyes trailed up and down my body.

I felt slightly uncomfortable as the drunken Dan Humphrey checked me out, as obviously as he could.

"Do you think you can direct me to your apartment?" I asked him.

"A course!" he exclaimed, grinning at me stupidly.

"Alright, let's go."

I draped his arm over my shoulder and we started walking down the sidewalk. He leaned most of his weight on me as we walked.

"As a side note," Dan said, "Its friggin sweet that ya found me. Like serously, who could do that?"

I didn't answer, but he continued to ramble incoherently.

"Dan it's ok," I told him, "We'll talk later, ok?"

It's not that I didn't miss listening to his voice or hearing him say my name, but now wasn't the time. I couldn't handle it if he said something he didn't mean or wouldn't remember when he was sober.

So we continued silently down the sidewalk. I could smell the alcohol on Dan's breath. His clothes too smelt strongly of the bar and smoke. But even through the stench I could still smell him. That delicious Dan smell still peaked through and into my nose.

We reached my car and I helped him into the car and even buckled him. I then hurried around and got in myself.

"Ok," I said, "Tell me where to go."

"Turn right," he demanded.

"Ok," I said, "Just tell me when to turn next.

"Dan?" I said when he didn't answer.

I looked over at him when I was stopped at a stop sign. His head was resting against the chair and his mouth was open. Soft snores were already filling the silence.

I rolled my eyes and pulled a U-turn in the middle of the street. There was no way he could give me directions to the backseat, let alone his house.

So that's how I found myself driving back to my house at three in the morning with Dan Humphrey in my passenger seat.

He barely woke up as I got him out of the car, up the steps, and through the front door. No one else stirred either. Chuck was on vacation somewhere and Eric was away at college. I wasn't sure where my mom was but I knew she wouldn't mind if Dan crashed in a spare room for the night. I was again supporting most of his weight as I pulled him to the closest room. I managed to get him laid down and his head on a pillow.

I stared down at the ex-love of my life and couldn't help but smile.

I knew he wouldn't even notice, but I thought I might as well make him comfortable while he was sleeping. I started at his feet and slowly pulled off both of his shoes. I walked to the other side of the bed and reached down to pull his muscular arm out of his twisted cardigan. Once I got one arm out I was stuck. I began snaking my arm underneath him and started pulling the sweater out with my other arm. I thanked gosh he was sleeping cause I was pretty much giving him a huge hug right now. While laying on him.

I gave the cardigan one more tug and Dan's eyes fluttered opened and he smirked.

"Mmm," he mumbled, "You're so sexy."

"And you're so drunk," I replied freeing the sweater and tossing it onto a nearby chair, "Now go back to sleep. Trust me, you need it."

I turned to take a step away but something held me. His calloused hand gripped onto mine, and was not letting go.

"What's wrong Dan?" I asked turning back to him.

He tugged on my arm twice, pulling me closer to him.

"Stay," he demanded.

"Dan, I need to go up to my bed," I told him.

"Stay," he demanded again.

He pulled once more on my hand so I was forced to sit down on the bed next to him.

"Please," he mumbled, staring at me.

"Fine," I gave in, "As long as you promise to sleep.

His eyes snapped shut instantly. I couldn't help but smile again. I removed my shoes and lay down sideways next to him so my back was pressed against his chest. It felt so normal, so right.

Dan's arm instantly draped over my side so his hand dangled in front of my stomach, just like old times.

As much as I loved the feeling of him lying there, it hurt like hell.

It hurt that Dan had called me beautiful and sexy. It hurt that he wanted me to stay. It hurt cause I knew these were things he would forget, or maybe even regret when he sobered up. It hurt that laying there with me was basically nothing to him.

Of course it felt normal to me cause I had never let go. It felt normal to him because he had changed and gotten used to sleeping with a different girl each night.

When we broke up again in our junior year of college, it really was final. We had actually fought and not just had a problem we couldn't work through. Dan left town after that. As for as I know he hadn't even finished his last year at NYU. Something had happened and turned him into the person he was now. It was like we swapped roles. I hadn't gone home with a random guy in years, and here he was with two different color lipsticks smudged on his face.

But even as I was drowned with pain and my tears stung with hot tears, I didn't get up. I couldn't even bring myself to remove Dan's arm from around me. Because in the end, I would take this pain night after night if it meant being in his arms. Because though in three years I hadn't felt his much pain, I also hadn't felt this alive.

To be continued…..


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to you reviewers out there! I hope the rest of the story doesn't disappoint. Here's a background info chapter!**

**Dan's POV**

I shifted slightly, but found I could barely move. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and opened them slightly. I came face to face with the most beautiful face I had ever seen.

Serena looked peaceful and happy and safe. My heart swelled at the thought that she could sleep so calmly. I thanked God she wasn't plagued with nightmares like I was.

My head pounded and I closed my eyes due to the pain. I moaned out loud suddenly realizing how bright the light was pouring through the window. I slid down so I could lie on my back and Serena started moving. I stared at her face. She was still sleeping.

She shifted her body weight so she was nearly on top of me and rested her head on my chest. I knew it was wrong to take advantage of her while she was sleeping. I should have gotten up and let her sleep by herself.

But I couldn't.

I wrapped my arm around her the best I could and tried to fall back asleep.

I closed my eyes but I still saw her face.

Her calm expression slowly morphed. All of the sudden her face was glaring at me. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears were running down her face.

It was the image of her breaking up with me.

My heart broke again while I lay in bed with her, picturing the pain on her face and knowing that I caused it.

I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or being forced to remember but suddenly the day she walked out started playing in my mind.

"What the hell Dan!" she spat at me.

"Serena, do we really have to do this?" I asked her, tossing my coat down on our couch.

"Are you serious?" she questioned, "This is the fifth time you've stood me up. And when I came to visit you at work, you barely smiled. And what about last night?"

"I told you I was gonna be home late," I said shortly, "I was working on a piece."

"And I was still awake wasn't I?" she said, "Sitting on your coach, waiting for you.. And you mumbled goodnight as you walked by and that's it."

"Are you really gonna get mad at me for that?"

"If it was just that, no!" I said honestly, "But seriously Dan I feel like I'm the only one who cares anymore!"

"Look Serena," I said angrily, "I've had a lot going on. I constantly have deadlines and grades to keep up and its stressful, ok?"

"And what that gives you the right to treat me like shit!" she exclaimed.

"If you're gonna get pissed at me, at least have a good reason," I told her, "I don't want to deal with this."

The anger quickly faded off my girlfriends face. She stared at me blankly and a tear fell off her cheek. I wanted to brush the others away but I could feel her emotions radiating off of her and they acted as a shield. My heart broke as she let her pain shine through.

All of my promises came flushing back as she stared at me. I wasn't gonna hurt like all those other guys would. I would treat her with never ending respect and love her unconditionally. I wouldn't break her heart. We had some troubles through high school but once we were in college and equal most of our issues were gone. Our parents relationship didn't last and my dad had a different serious girlfriend so Serena and I were free to date. I promised her when we got back together, things would be different.

"When did this happen to you?" she asked quietly, and somehow it hurt more than the yelling, "When did you stop being you. The fun loving, respectful Dan Humphrey. When did you turn into a jackass with no emotions except pity for yourself. Cause when that happened you stopped being the guy I love. I'm sick of trying to help you sort out your shit, when you don't even want to talk. I don't know what the hell happened but I know you don't care about me and you anymore. So if you're done, I'm done."

She grabbed her coat and purse and nothing else. She shot me one last look of disgust and walked out the door.

It didn't register as the door slammed. It didn't register the next morning when she wasn't in the kitchen trying to make me breakfast. But whenever it did sink in hit me hard.

And the way Serena looked at me, haunted me from then on. That one look said so much. But most of all it made it clear that she realized I had turned into another guy that would rip out her heart and throw it in her face.

Without wanting to or planning to, I had done the impossible. Tons of douche bags and lying manipulative jerks have walked all over Serena's life and they've always made my blood boil and my stomach sick, but she's so strong and she could fight off every single one of them. And somehow after all that I was the one that broke Serena van der Woodsen.

**A flashback to the beginning of Dan's downfall! Find out what's making him this way!**


	3. Chapter 3

My hands were shaking as I tried pouring hot water into the coffee machine. I had expected last night to be a crazy dream. I thought I'd wake up crying like I had so many other times. However, this morning was the complete opposite. I had woken up lying on top of Dan instead of next to him.

He had somehow got underneath me so he was lying on his back. I had been lying on my stomach with my head on his chest.

His face, of course, had been the first thing I'd seen. The shock and amazement that it hadn't been a dream was the reason I was currently shaking.

I didn't know what to do or how to react. This was all so crazy! I hadn't seen or talked to Dan since three years ago when we were in love. Now after all the time, here I was taking care of him like we used to when we were dating and one of us got smashed.

As my coffee started to brew I decided the first thing I should do is change. I ran up to my room grabbed the first comfortable thing I saw. A tight white t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. I pulled my hair up in my classic pony-tail and decided that was good enough. Maybe if I was dressed like this Dan wouldn't have the urge to say sweet drunken things to me that would make butterflies erupt in my stomach.

I glanced in the mirror and an image of Blair floated into my head. She would not approve of my wardrobe. I should be wearing a revealing dress with perfectly fixed hair, in her opinion. But in this case I wasn't worried about winning the breakup. Everything was different with Dan.

It was with that thought that I ran back down my stairs and into my kitchen. I jumped in surprise when I saw Dan sitting on a stool in my kitchen. His head was resting awkwardly on the surface of the counter.

My mom's voice was filling the room.

"Serena, hey honey. I'm sorry I couldn't make it home last night, I got held up at work. I'll be home in a few hours. Bye."

I pressed stop on the answering machine and silence filled my huge house again.

"Hey Dan," I said walking around the counter so I was across from him.

He slowly lifted his head off the counter to look at me.

"Hey Serena," he replied.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, having no idea what else to say.

"Like shit," he answered me shortly.

I couldn't control the rush of affection that ran through me as he dropped his head back to the counter.

"You still look great," he mumbled into the marble.

Damn him for being able to read my mind!

"Dan," I said, still feeling sorry for him, "How much did you drink last night?"

"A lot."

"Ok, well go back into the living room where it's comfortable," I instructed, "I'll bring you coffee."

"Thanks," he mumbled standing up slowly.

I watched as he paused to find his balance and then went shuffling to the living room.

I poured a cup of coffee and grabbed him an Advil. I then followed him back into the living room and handed him his goods before curling up on the couch across from him.

Dan was sitting up, not laying, but he was slumped down really far so he could rest his head against the back cushion. I waited until he had successfully taken the medicine before talking.

"Dan," I said again, "Is there someone you want me to call? Someone who can come get you and take you home?"

"Why?" he asked, "You want me to leave?"

My insides were screaming NO as loud as they could but I couldn't tell him that. I could never let that slip out.

"You can stay as long as you need," I told him, "But I think it's better that someone that knows you takes care of you."

"No one knows me better than you," he told me closing his eyes.

I shook off the pleasure I got from his comment, knowing it wasn't gonna last.

"Do you want me to call Jenny?" I asked, "Or Vanessa, Nate? Your dad?"

"Go ahead and call all of them," he replied, eyes still closed, "None of them are gonna come."

I sat in confusion for a second as Dan rubbed his temples.

"I haven't talked to any of them in probably two years," he explained, "After I lost you three years ago, I changed. Into a jerk and a borderline alcoholic. I stopped talking to my dad and family cause I didn't want to hurt them like I hurt you. I graduated from NYU but after I never did anything with it. I didn't finish any of the writings I'd started. And that was around the last time I talked to Nate or Vanessa. I figured if my family wanted to talk to a drunk like me they would. No one has tried to contact me."

My heart broke quietly for the man I once loved, as he explained his story. I had been in terrible shape too, but I had my friends and family to keep me sane when Dan and I broke up.

"Dan, I'm so sorry," I whispered, biting back tears.

"I don't want you to pity me," He said now looking right at me, "I just want you to know why I called you last night. I don't want to hurt you anymore. I just needed someone to help me, and I knew you were my only hope. Once again I was a selfish ass."

As Dan continued his story I could hear him choking up. He wiped his eyes and went on.

"That's all I've ever been Serena," he told me, "A selfish ass."

"No Dan," I said, feeling my own tears now, "No."

"Yes," he said fiercely, "That's all I've ever been. Before we were together it was easy for me to pretend. But you know as good as I do that it was easy for me to join in on the immature behavior I claimed to be too good for. I could hide behind you, and my love for you. But when we broke up the true guy in me came out. I turned into this mess, that I was always supposed to be. That's why I didn't come after you. Because I'm a selfish coward. And it's better that no one that used to love me knows me now."

Dan finished and looked down at his hands. I could see him shaking as he tried to suppress his sobs. He failed miserably and I could see the silent tears rolling down his face.

More of my heart broke as The Dan Humphrey, writer, Lonely Boy, sarcastic, and once very desirable bachelor, broke down in front of me. He set his pride aside and was crying in front of me and that alone was enough to make me start bawling.

I stood and quickly moved over so I was sitting next to Dan. He was now resting his elbows on his knees, so he was completely slumped over. I put my arm immediately around his shoulder and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Dan," I whispered, "Don't do this to yourself. You better not really believe that you're all those things you just said. Dan, I'm the girl you didn't follow and I don't think you're selfish or a coward."

"Serena," he whispered, "Don't do that. I am what I am, you can't change that."

"Yes I can Dan," I told him, "Because like you said I know you best. And that means I know you even better than you know yourself. So I know that deep down is the loving, amazing, sweet Dan and it's sometimes covered by this Dan. You have it backward, because if deep down you were a mess, you never would have been able to put that aside. It always would have shown through and I never would've fallen in love with you. But I did Dan, because you are different that all the other jerks I knew before you. "

"You haven't seen me these past three years," he insisted, "All those people you mentioned have. And if them not talking to me isn't enough of a sign, you're not as smart as I thought you were."

I could not let this go on. There was no way I was going to let Dan go on convincing himself that he was a bad person.

"Do you want to talk to them?" I asked, forming a plan, "Do you miss them? Do you miss your family?"

"Of course, I do," he said weakly, "I'd do anything to change these past three years."

"Good," I said, "Now drink the rest of your coffee and go take a shower. You remember where it is. Leave your clothes on the floor outside. Let me take care of everything else."

"What are you thinking?" Dan demanded of me.

"Don't worry about it," I whispered to him, "Just trust me."

"I do," he whispered looking back at me.

Our faces were a few inches apart and I almost lost control as he whispered to me.

"Serena," he said, "What if I'm too hungover to stand in the shower for that long?"

Even though he was serious, a smile appeared on my face.

"Take a bath," I told him, "But don't drown. And if you're too dizzy to get upstairs, just call to me."

Five minutes later I walked upstairs to the bathroom. Dan's clothes were lying on the ground outside the door just as I wanted them to be. I could hear the water running on the other side of the door. Apparently he had enough confidence in himself to shower.

Again I couldn't suppress a grin as I grabbed his clothes and ran back downstairs. I threw them into the washer and hoped one wash would be enough to free them of their smell.

I then went back to my living room and pulled out my cell phone. Time to get serious.

Twenty minutes later I was lounging on my couch, with my phone lying next to me. I was half way through my plan. I took a second to breathe and thought I heard a creaking on the stairs. I looked up and sure enough Dan was on his way down.

His hair was wet and sticking in different directions all over his head. I could see a few drops of water still running down his chest. Oh, his bare chest which looked just as muscular as it had three years ago. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, but it was short enough that I could still see half of his leg.

I wanted to look away so bad, but my emotions took over me and all sensible thought left me.

Dan Humphrey was 15 feet away from me, half naked for the first time in years. If it happened to you, you would forget everything else too!

"Serena," He said quietly, "What'd you do with my clothes?"

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed, jumping up, "I'm so sorry. I washed them for you but I got distracted and forgot to bring them back. One second!"

I scolded myself as I ran into another room and grabbed his clothes.

"Here you go," I said, walking up the bottom few steps to reach him.

"Thanks," he said, "And I made it just fine in the shower, thanks for asking."

I ignored him cause I knew he was joking.

"You're clothes don't smell like Chuck anymore, you're welcome," I replied.

"Whatever will I do," he replied sarcastically, "I've missed Chuck."

I rolled my eyes and turned to walk back down the steps.

Now that Dan wasn't drunk anymore, his sense of humor was coming back. And yes, that was making it even harder for me to not get attached to him. I just had to keep telling myself that he wasn't here to stay, I couldn't get used to him.

Within the next hour, Dan got dressed and ready and I had ordered some breakfast. We ate together and we were now sitting in my living room. I had decided to sit across from him. It was easier that way.

"So Dan," I said, "Tell me about working for that newspaper, and the stories you worked on through college."

"What about it?" he replied, with a smile, "You know pretty much everything about it. We were together for 3 of the years I worked there."

"What happened afterward though?" I asked quietly, "After you left and…disappeared."

Dan was quiet for a second, and I was afraid I had gone too far. But I just needed to know before the rest of my plan took place.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I shouldn't have asked you – "

"Serena its ok," Dan assured me, "I'm not gonna freak out or lose it again. And besides, after everything you've done for me, not just last night, but my whole life, you deserve to know."

"Well, I'll tell you what I think first," I said, "From what you told me, I don't think you're entirely at fault. You stopped talking to your dad because you didn't want to disappoint him."

"And now that I haven't talked to him in three years, I think it's pretty obvious that he'll hate me," Dan countered.

"You're dad will never hate you," I told him, "And I know deep down you don't really believe that he would."

"But Nate and Vanessa," he went on, "And Jenny. They ignored me too."

"Dan, didn't you ignore them too?" I asked, "They stopped talking to you when you stopped talking to them."

"Yeah."

"I think it's pretty obvious that they miss you too," I said, "They don't hate you. They just wanted to respect you. If you didn't want to see them, they were gonna let you be. You miss them though right. You want to see them?"

Dan remained quiet for a second before turning his head up to look at me.

"That's one thing I want," he admitted quietly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked after a brief pause, "About what happened...to us?"

Dan broke our eye contact to stare at down at his hands.

"I wouldn't know where to start," he admitted, "We were never the best at talking about our relationship."

"How about we start the day we broke up," I suggested, "Do you remember it?"

He scoffed, sitting up so he could look at me again.

"Do I remember it?" he asked, "Like it was yesterday. But if we only talk about that day it will look like it was all your fault. If we back up some I can take some of the blame."

It sounded harsh, but the grin on his face and tone of his voice assured me he was joking. Even through all of this he still had that same sense of humor.

"So, when did it start?" I urged.

"Do you remember," Dan started, "Do you remember when my mom died?"

"Yeah," I replied quietly, thinking back, "During our freshmen year at college."

"Yeah," he agreed, "There was the long case to find out what happened."

"It lasted months," I added, trying to help him through it, "And they discovered it was a fluke accident."

I could sense the frustration from six years ago growing in Dan as he talked about it.

"After all of the time, and the pain, and the investigating," he went on, "They declared it an accident."

"Yeah," I remembered, "You were happy. Your dad, Jenny, and even you. You were glad no one was after you."

"You're right," he continued, "We were as happy as we could be after losing her. But anyway I had you and I had a good job with the newspaper and I was working on a full length novel."

"You were going to be the next Spielberg or Tolkein," I said, remembering it would always annoy him when I compared him to author's that weren't his favorites."

"I would have been better than them," he added, playing along with our old bantering, "So we all thought."

"What happened, Dan?" I urged, "Your mom's death was devastating, but that was three years before we broke up."

"But it wasn't until three years later that all that pain from the investigation meant nothing," he told me, "Do you remember the first day of summer after our Junior year at college?

I felt pain pierce through me. Not only because of the look on Dan's face but because I remembered that night perfectly.

Dan had finished a short story that was published in magazines. The summer was about to start, I was back home and we were ready for a great summer together. We hadn't seen each other in a few weeks, but he was coming home from NYU and spending his first night with me. He told me he was going to pick up some reviews from the post office and he'd meet me at my house.

"You said," I started, "That you'd be back and we'd celebrate. You told me if I waited up for you, you'd make it worth my while."

"Jackass move number 1," Dan said sadly, "Remember?"

"Yeah," I replied, "You didn't come back."

"And I didn't even tell you why," he said.

"The next day, you told me nothing worked out the right way," I said, "And that there was a misunderstanding with one of your pieces."

"That was an understatement," he said, continuing to beat himself up over whatever happened.

"Dan," I whispered, "What happened that night?"

"It wasn't just that night," he admitted, "But that's when it started. I didn't just pick up reviews that night. There was an envelope for me. It was addressed from….Alison Humphrey."

Dan broke off and gripped his hair again.

Something inside of me took control of my body. I got off the couch and walked slowly across the room. I sat down right next to Dan and took his hand.

"It's ok," I assured him, giving his hand a squeeze, though my insides were losing control "What was in the envelope?"

"Pictures," he spit out, "Of my mom. She was in some room and she looked rough. I could tell she'd been in there for a few days. There were notes written by some creep leaving clues on where she was. They were addressed to Alex."

"Wait, wasn't that your mom's neighbor?" I asked softly.

Dan nodded, "The one she left my dad for. But anyway, long story short there was a number for me to call. I called it that night and Alex answered. He told me the whole case was wrong and that whoever those pictures came from had killed her. He had wanted to contact me sooner but the creep who did it had him on constant surveillance. It took him three freakin years to get out of that guys control!"

Dan broke off and I couldn't imagine how hard it must be for him to tell me this story.

"You don't need to go into all the details," I told him, "I'm so sorry."

"No," he replied, "I want to tell you. A few days later is when I disappeared. I went to see Alex, I searched, followed the clues and I couldn't find the creep anywhere. Until I realized he was hiding in plain sight. He was the Bart Bass equivalent in cities all across America. If you lived in a city where he did business, you knew his name. I told Alex and the two of us went after the creep one night. He was always surrounded my body guards but Alex is a genius and we had him cornered one night. The bastard didn't recognize either of us. That's how little his dealings with my mom and meant to him. A body guard had grabbed Alex while we were chasing the guy but not before he had slipped me a gun. I could've ended it right there."

Terrifying images flew through my mind. The pain and suffering I went through when I thought I had killed someone gripped me and I prayed that Dan hadn't been drowning in that same pain.

"I didn't do it," he said, "Reading the look on my face. I let him get away. But even weirder is, he let me get away. But not before he could utter the two things that will forever be etched in my mind. He stood above me surrounded by guys who could bash my head in. 'I'm gonna let you go,' he told me, 'Cause I think it will cause you more suffering knowing you couldn't avenge your dear mom and that if you do take any actions against me you're dear dad and sister will suffer the same fate. And I think you'd also be interested to know, turns out we were never after your mom or Alex anyway, it was all a misunderstanding."

I don't know how long we sat there. With my arms wrapped around him, trying to comprehend everything he had been through. It was absolutely crazy and I couldn't think of a thing to say.

"There is absolutely no reason for you to feel like shit about yourself," I managed after a good ten minutes, "You did everything you could and more. Killing him would not have helped you, Dan. And you know that I know that first hand. No one would blame you because some psycho targeted you."

"It's irrelevant," he persisted, "But it did make me the most selfish guy I know. I stopped caring about the good, and I focused on the bad shit. I felt sorry for myself. I wallowed in my pity and everything else became second in my life. Even you. I became obsessed with all the reasons that my life sucked. I didn't understand why some people had it all, and I couldn't even face my family. Being around them meant keeping a secret I didn't want so I made it easier on myself by forgetting them and introducing myself to a bottle of liquor."

"That's when you started - "

"Missing dates?" he finished for me, "Blowing you off? You were exactly right when you broke up with me. I had stopped putting effort into the relationship. It was all take and I never gave you anything. And Serena a day doesn't go by that I don't regret it. I promised you I'd treat you right. I wanted to. And walking away from me is what I deserved. And you deserved so much better and I can never tell you how sorry I am."

"Dan stop," I demanded, "If you want to get passed this all this regret has to go. You can never move on, if you don't forgive yourself first."

We sat in silence for a moment, each taking in what the other had said. Dan was about to speak again when my doorbell rang.

I could see surprise appear on his face.

"Are you expecting someone?"

**I hope none of you are disappointed with how serious things were in this chapter. I just feel that for Dan to turn into what he is in this story, something serious had to go down. Please let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Within five minutes everyone I had called had arrived at my house. We had all gathered in my living room. I was the last to sit down, but knew I'd be the first to talk.

I looked around at the people who had come. I was sitting on the small couch with Dan. His dad was in the chair by the window. Nate was sitting on the other chair and Jenny and Vanessa were sitting with each other on my large couch.

"Ok," I started, "Um thanks for coming on such short notice. I've seen Nate a lot recently, but the rest of you it's been awhile and it's good to see you. I've missed you. But we all know we're not here to catch up on our daily lives."

"Serena, none of them want to be here," Dan whispered so only I could hear.

I shot him a pleading look, begging him to go along with it. He seemed to give in, but his next action surprised me.

"Stop," he said firmly, "This is wrong. Serena called you all here and is about to go into some speech to fight a battle. A battle that isn't hers to fight. I don't deserve to have her do this for me. The truth is, until last night I haven't spoken to her in exactly three years. And she probably didn't tell you I was here and I know you wouldn't have come if she did, so it's fine. After everything I did to her, it's not right for her to do this for me."

I was filled with confusion as Dan took over the speech. I looked around again at the people in my living room. They were all staring silently at him. It was hard to tell how they were feeling.

"Serena and I have been talking about what happened and she made me realize this is all my fault."

"Dan," I said, slightly offended that he was gonna make it sound like I was rude to him.

"No, it's a good thing," he assured me, "It really is. I always thought that you all hate me. I thought that if you ever wanted to talk to me you would contact me. But I never thought about it this way, I didn't try to contact you either. Maybe you do all hate me, and the only reason you're here is because you couldn't say no to Serena. But now that you're here, please allow me to apologize for being the terrible person I am."

Dan took a deep breath and turned towards his dad.

"Dad," he said, "I love you. I know I haven't contacted you in two years, but I did that for you. I'm ashamed of the person I've become and I wanted to spare you from seeing me like that. I didn't want you to blame yourself for raising a son like me, cause really it's all my fault. You did everything for Jenny and I and I feel so bad about everything."

"Same for you Nate," he said turning to his friend, "You were the first person to accept me when I joined your world. Other than Serena, you were the first one that made me realize you weren't all bad. You were a great friend. "

"And you two," he said turning to his siblings, "You're the two people I've been friends with the longest. Vanessa, no matter what happened we always had each others backs and you never turned on me when I hurt you. And Jenny, I don't even know where to start. I just...I love you and you were my best friend growing up. When everything happened I couldn't face you, I was stupid and selfish and I'm sorry."

"And to all of you, this doesn't even begin to explain all the terrible things I've done."

"Dan," Rufus said forcefully, "Stop.

"You don't need to tear yourself apart for us," he went on, "You're my son, and I wasn't there for you. I don't even know what happened to you! I wanted to be there for you, and if you thought I didn't then I'm sorry. But I thought you knew I would always be there."

"I wanted to beat you alive sometimes," Jenny admitted, "But I'm supposed to, you're by brother. I hated when you disappeared but I never really hated you."

"You were there for me when everyone I thought was my friend, wasn't," Nate commented, "You're a good friend Dan, and I still hope to repay the favor someday."

"You see," I stated, "It was all one big misunderstanding. Everyone messed up and we all could have done more."

"I sure hope it's not too late now," Dan agreed.

I smiled as Vanessa, who hadn't spoken rushed towards Dan with her arms open. She hugged him tightly mumbling about missing him and how stupid he is.

After that everyone took turns hugging Dan and the grin didn't leave his face the whole time. But I could tell something was still bothering him. Just because he had talked with his friends and family, didn't mean all the pain and reasons he disappeared had gone away. He still had the secret of what happened to his mom and it was killing him.

"Dan, you need a ride home?" Nate offered.

"Thanks man, but not now," Dan replied, "I got some stuff to take care of here first."

"Alright I understand," Michael said, "Good to see you guys. Take care."

"Ooh," Vanessa said quietly to me, "Things to do here. Wonder what that could be?"

"Oh shut up," I smiled, "Nothing happened."

"Sounds like it's about to!" she sang.

"Yeah if everyone ever leaves," I joked.

"But seriously," she said, "Don't even try to tell me you're over him."

"That's not the point," I said, "Dan has a lot going on right now. I'm sure getting back with me is not the first thing on his mind."

"It sure looked like it from the way he was looking at you."

"Go away," I laughed, hitting her.

"Ok, ok I'm going," she said, "Bye Dan!"

I was glad Vanessa and I were still friends after all this time.

I closed the door behind her and turned to face my living room. The Humphreys were standing together, but not talking.

"I should probably go," I said, "You guys can stay though and talk and catch up."

"Serena, " Dan said as I turned to go, "Please stay."

"Oh, I don't know," I replied, "Don't you have some things you want to talk to them about?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, staring at me, "But I need you here."

"Please stay," Rufus chimed in, "You've done a lot for us."

I smiled at him and slowly walked back to the couch as we all sat down.

"A lot happened," Dan started, staring down at his hands, "Three years ago. I couldn't tell you, but you should know. And then again it killed me to know so who I am to make you suffer."  
"Dan," Rufus said fiercely, "Just tell us what happened. We're not gonna let you go through this alone!"

I slid closer to Dan on the couch so I could put my hand on his back. He sat up a bit to face his dad and sister.

"It's not selfish to tell them," I whispered, "Think about if they knew and didn't tell you. Wouldn't you want to know?"

Dan looked at me and I saw a glistening in his eye. He was going through the pain all over again. I nodded and he seemed to gain the strength. He turned to his family and broke into the heart breaking story he had recounting for me just hours ago.

It broke my heart to watch their family go through all this pain. None of them deserved it. But they had each other and I could almost see weight lift off Dan's chest as he finished his story. I sat quietly as the Humphreys hugged, cried, and talked with each other.

After at least an hour they seemed to have said all there was to say. Eyes red and hair rumpled the three shared one last hug before Rufus and Jenny made their exit.

Dan turned back towards me, we were both standing now.

"You ok?" I asked, knowing there was nothing I could say.

He nodded simply, having nothing to say for the first time in his life.

"Serena!"

My mom's voice shot through our silence as she came walking into the living room.

"I had to stop at a store on the way home," she went on, "I just couldn't pass up this dress."

She looked up and shock ran over her face.

"Dan," she said, "What a surprise."

"Mom," I interjected, "Dan's had a rough time. Any chance we could just leave it at that?"

"Uh, well," she replied, still processing that my ex-boyfriend neither of us had seen in three years was in our living room, "Sure. Good to see you Dan. I'll just go unpack."

She walked by me, giving me a quick hug, and then continued upstairs.

"You're amazing," Dan said once she was gone, "Seriously, everything you did in the past few hours."

"I told you no one hated you," I smiled.

"What about you?" he asked stepping closer to me.

"What about me?" I asked, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Do you hate me?"

"Of course I don't," I admitted quietly, "Why would I?"

"I broke your heart," he said, steadily, "Don't even pretend our break up wasn't my fault."

"And we're right back to where we started before everyone showed up," I commented.

"No, we're a bit better now," he replied, "We at least talked through our break up."

"When I left," I started quietly, "I went to Blair and bawled. I remember asking her repeatedly why you didn't follow me."

"I bawled to," Dan admitted, rubbing the back of his next, "I'm sorry I didn't follow you."

"You did what you thought I wanted," I whispered.

We were now standing close enough I was sure he could hear me.

"How can I be mad, at you for listening to me?"

"Serena," he whispered, "I should go."

The sudden change in mood brought me back to reality.

"What?"

"I've intruded long enough," he said, "I can't even begin to thank you for everything you've done in the last 12 hours. But don't worry I'll make it up to you. I just need to go home, give you some alone time, and change my clothes."

"Of course," I said trying not to sound disappointed, "But you can come back, you know."

"Thank you," Dan said again.

"Dan, I'm really proud of the way you handled everything today," I admitted, "You were great."

He smiled and the next thing I knew I was in his arms. His strong arms were wrapped all the way around me, squeezing me in a one of kind Dan Humphrey hug.

"You will right?" I asked when we pulled away.

"I will what?" he replied.

"You'll come back?"

"You're damn right I will," he responded fiercely.

We shared one last smile before he stepped around me and out the door.

"Dan!" I called when he reached the bottom of my steps.

I knew I probably sounded desperate, but I didn't care.

"Serena," he called back.

"Thanks for calling me," I told him, "Last night. I'm glad you did."

"Me too," he responded, making my spirits soar.

And with that he turned and walked down the sidewalk, leaving me confused and alone in the doorway.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I can't believe you brought me here," Serena was laughing as we sat down at the bar.

"This is where all the hell began," I told her, "And this is where I want it to end. I haven't been here all week you know."

Yes, it had been a full week since that fateful drunken phone call. And I was doing amazing at turning my life around, all thanks to Serena of course. We were still just friends, but we were doing great that way.

We ordered our drinks then turned to face each other on the stools.

"So how are things with Jenny and your dad?" she asked me.

"Good," I told her, "We've been through a lot together. I should have known they could handle everything."

"Jenny's lucky to have you," Serena told me, "You were always strong for her, even when she went through that rebellious stage."

"She worships you," I said, "You know that right?"

"Oh no," she replied, "She always worshipped Queen Blair."

"She did," I corrected her, "But now she's more like you. She was the "queen" but she didn't treat people like Penelope –"

"Or Blair," Serena finished for me, "It's ok, I know she could be a bitch."

I smiled at Serena's honesty even towards her best friend.

"The point is," I went on, "You became her role model, after she got over the whole Blair thing."

"Well I hope that's a good thing," Serena said, making that cute face she does when she's concerned."

"It is," I assured her.

"Even with Jenny being the nice queen of Constance," Serena said, "There was still other girls who did the same things that happened to us in high school."

"They didn't get hit as hard with Gossip Girl thought," I pointed out.

"Uugh," Serena groaned, "No, we were the lucky ones who got the full brunt of Gossip Girl."

"Any chance my disappearance got a stir on there?" I questioned, "I started deleting updates as soon as I got them."

"Yeah, she had a lot of fun with you," Serena told me, "But whatever, that's over now!"

"Ooh! Guess what!" I said getting excited, "This weekend Nate and I are going to play some soccer with a few of his friends from Columbia."

"Ooh, so the bromance continues?" she chuckled.

"I can't win!" I exclaimed, "Jenny used to make fun of me for not having guy friends."

"I'm just kidding," Serena said cutely, "I love when you and Nate hang out. You're both great guys who deserve a good friend."

"Well Nate has Chuck."

Serena laughed, knowing how I truly felt about Chuck Bass.

As our laughter ended our eyes met like they had been doing all week. The only reason I could bring myself to look away from her eyes, was too stare at her lips. They were smiling and looked so ready to be kissed. No, I couldn't risk our new found friendship.

"Dan," Serena whispered, making me want to kiss her even more.

"Hhmm?" I asked, still staring at her lips

"Just kiss me."

I didn't have time to look up at her or to let shock run through me. As soon as her words registered in my brain, my lips were on hers.

Suddenly I was kissing the girl of my dreams, in a way I never imagined. Our lips moved together, just as they used to. My tongue slid easily into her mouth and my hands fit perfectly on her waist. Her fingers were playing with the bottom part of my hair. We kissed each other hungrily, until we both needed air. When we pulled back, I kept our foreheads resting together.

"Dance with me," I demanded, suddenly.

Serena looked slightly taken aback, but pleased. I couldn't explain the sudden urge to dance with the beautiful girl in front of me. I wanted so badly to stand close with her and sway to the music. She led me to the dance floor and we had barely stopped walking before my arms were around her.

A slow song began right on cue and I pulled our bodies close together. I pressed a gentle kiss on Serena's lips before moving to right under her earlobe. I continued my stream of kisses all the way down to her neck where I started leaving my mark.

"Dan," she whispered.

I mumbled back, not wanting to stop what I was doing.

"Dan," she whispered again, "I have a confession."

This caught my attention so I stopped kissing her long enough to look up into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I never stopped loving you."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, I knew everything was going to be ok. I get a new job, our family would be ok, and most of all, I'd never have to let Serena go again.

"Serena," I whispered back, "I never stopped thinking about you, let alone stop loving you."

As my words registered in her mind, her huge smile broke out across her face. The smile that could break my heart but make it soar at the same time.

Our lips crashed together again as my hands tightened the grip on her waist.

"Dan," she said again, "Do you want to get another drink."

"Hell no," I replied quickly, "I want to remember everything about tonight."

Serena smiled again, then started moving to the faster song that I had just come on. I laughed as she busted out her dance moves, but didn't let me go. My only choice was to start dancing too.

"I love you," I told her, realizing how much I missed saying that.

"Mmmm, say that again," Serena demanded.

"I love you."

Serena leaned close to me and let her breath breeze across my face. I could feel her lips touching my ear as she whispered to me.

"Don't ever let me walk away from you again," she demanded quietly in my ear, "I love you so much."

"Why don't we get out of here?" I whispered back, "A dirty bar on the outskirts of town isn't really your scene."

"It's not yours either," she told me.

"Then let's go."

I intertwined my fingers in her and led her out of the old bar, knowing that was my last time leaving there. We walked by the lamp post where she had found me a week ago and I was filled with happiness.

We were out of high school, and though the Van der Woodsen name would always be more powerful than Humphrey, we were more equal now. The love I felt for Serena was greater than the pride. Our parents were done for good.

"I was right," Serena said, "All those years ago, about our connection. No matter what it was always you and me."

"I'm done living without you," I said confidently, "We're gonna make it this time."

**ATTENTION! This is my planned ending, HOWEVER if anyone has any idea or requests on ways they want me to continue it, I would be more than happy! I just love this couple! Please let me know! Or just leave me some final thoughts on the story! Thank you to everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Let the drama continue! I decided that if I have time I'll keep coming back to this story. I don't have any more planned right now, but I just love Dan and Serena too much to let them go. I plan to continue making up my own stories and plots, so nothing that goes on in my story will be based off the current show plots. **

**I have some other dramatic things I can write for you though, because really it wouldn't be Gossip Girl without the outrageously addicting drama!**

**Chapter 6**

"Yes Dan, you have to come!" I was laughing into the phone, "What's the matter with you, you got so good at fitting in, in the Upper East Side."

"Mm, and that was always my dream in life," he joked back, "But it's just weird. I haven't been to one of your events in so long."

"Well I promise you, nothing has changed," I assured him, "There's different names on the guest list, but they're the same people."

"That was deep," Dan said to me, "I've rubbed off on you."

I giggled happily, loving to be back to our old bantering.

"Seriously," I told him, pulling one of my heels on, one handed, "Now that Blair and I are in college we have families coming from there, along with the classics."

"Oh good," Dan replied, "So I can expect to see the Archibald's, the Waldorfs, and, the grand finale the Bass family!"

"Mrs. Archibald, Mrs. Waldorf, and Cyrus are awesome!" I reminded him, "And you can see Nate, and people you know from NYU, and just avoid Blair and Chuck."

"Are they still together?" Dan questioned.

"Look at you," I said, "Getting in on the gossip. I guess I've rubbed off on you too!"

"I haven't had much of a choice," Dan reminded me, "But whatever, can I least pick you up?"

"Actually," I said, sadly, "I'm heading out now. My mom wants to be early since she's on the board."

"As usual," Dan laughed, "Jenny says hi, by the way. As she shoved a tux in my hand and picked out a tie."

"I wish you could bring her," I said honestly, "Tell her we'll have a lot more parties to go too before the end of the summer!"

Dan and I said goodbye when my mom rushed into my room, telling me we were leaving. Erik was already waiting out front. The summer had finally come and it felt just like old times. A little less cattiness, and irresponsible partying, but Dan and I were together, Chuck and Blair, and Nate was still the hot bod that all the girls wanted. He and Vanessa had ended things officially about two years ago, and he hadn't seriously dated since. The end of this summer meant the beginning of all of our senior year at college. And then yet again, things would change.

I was so relieved when people finally started arriving at the party. Everyone was dressed in beautiful gowns or tux's and they fit in perfectly with the gorgeously decorated ball room. The event was simply meant to celebrate the beginning of summer, a fact that Dan couldn't seem to wrap his mind around. I couldn't stop looking for him as I helped my mom greeting all the guests. The Waldorfs walked in right on time and I rushed to give Blair a hug.

"Hey B, I'm so glad you're here," I said, "A sophisticated party wouldn't be the same without you!"

"With our moms, they'll be one of these every week," Blair replied, "And I sure hope there is."

"Don't you worry about that," a slow drawling voice said from behind us.

"Chuck!" I exclaimed, "I didn't see you come in."

"I prefer the back entrance," he said, in typical Chuck fashion.

He ran an arm around Blair's face, making her smile slightly.

Chuck was still repulsive and Chuck-like, but I didn't mind hanging out with him as much anymore. Especially now that he was with Blair and he had stopped hitting on me. And, over the years, Chuck had proven to be a really good friend.

"I'll be throwing some parties myself," he went on, "Still classy but not quite this…stiff. I demand that you're both there."

And with that my friends walked off. I talked with some of my other friends too. Girls from Brown or people from NYU I had met through Blair.

Then finally I felt someone put their hands on my eyes, and I turned around expectantly.

"Nate," I said, slightly shocked, "Hey, what's up?"

"I disappointed you," he said, straightening his tie, "Sorry, I just feel like I haven't talked to you yet this summer."

"No, of course not!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him, "I'm just nervous that Dan decided to stand me up."

"Yeah, ok," Nate chuckled, "Like that will ever happen."

"You never know," I laughed, "You've never seen his sassy side."

"I bed to differ," Nate assured me, "How've you been though, I miss you."

"I miss you too Nate," I said, "And I'm so glad you and Dan are hanging out again. I've been great actually. How about you?"

"Good," he said shortly, "After all this time, my moms finally back to normal."

"How about you, though?" I demanded, "Has the time helped you?"

"Yeah," he said, honestly, "Blair and Chuck are perfect for together. And I don't just mean that because they both went around my back to sleep together. Chuck really loves her, and they work well together. I know I wasn't perfect, but I'm better now. "

"Well, before you start dating anyone, you better let me meet them, "I told him, "You deserve someone perfect for you, and I want to help you find her!"

"Thanks," Nate smiled, "But I haven't had much time for dating. I've been….busy."

"Well that's very sketchy of you," I told him, "But I know how you business men are! If you ever need anything, you know you can call me right?"

"Of course," he said, with that serious look in his eye, "But right now, someone else needs you."

I followed Nate's gaze which was going past my shoulder. I turned quickly just as Dan stepped into a pool of light in the dimly lit room.

"Dan!" I squealed, as I ran over to him in a very un-sophisticated way, "You made it!"

I threw my arms around Dan's neck, and he immediately had his around my waist. We held each other in a tight embrace, not caring how many of our peers, or their parents were watching.

"I was just talking to Nate," I said pulling back, "He's right over there."

Dan looked over and waved casually at his friend.

"Look's like he's moved on quickly," Dan smiled.

Three girls were already surrounding Nate, and he didn't look like he'd be coming out of there anytime soon.

"I told Nate I thought you were gonna stand me up," I joked.

"And miss seeing you dressed like this?" he asked, running his eyes up and down my body, "Heeell no!"

I laughed as my insides melted. I loved when Dan talked like that! It was amazing that he, and no one else, had ever made me feel so happy.

"You look gorgeous," he said, taking in my long, dark blue dress loose hair.

"So do you," I assured him, "Jenny did fabulous picking out your outfit."

"And I get no credit," he said'

"And you're hair," I added, "It looks extremely sexy."

"Much better," he smirked.

And without any more conversation Dan leaned towards me and pressed our lips together. His hands wrapped tighter around me as we kissed and I kept my mouth hungrily on his.

"Excuse me, Serena?"

I pulled away reluctantly, looking around.

Two of my friends from college, Anna and Holly, were standing a few feet away. Holly hung loosely on her boyfriends arm.

"Oh, hey," I said, shifting slightly so that I could talk to them, but making sure Dan's arm was still around me.

"Anna, Holly, Brad," I said, "This is my boyfriend Dan. Dan, these are some of my friends from Brown."

They exchanged polite hellos.

"This is a great party," Anna gushed, "This room is gorgeous."

"Thanks for coming," I told them, "It would be a long summer without seeing you guys."

"We don't live too far away," Holly reminded me, "So we better see you more than just this once."

I agreed honestly, they were all really good friends that I'd like to spend time with.

"So Dan," Anna said, "Where do you go to school."

"Ah the dreaded question," Dan replied, "I'm a proud student of NYU."

"Oooh, I knew someone that went there," Holly said, "He's been really successful, I guess. I don't my sister used to date him."

"I considered NYU," Brad told us, "It's nice and close to home."

The conversation continued on for a while longer until we all needed more drinks.

"Wow," Dan said as the two of us walked away, "I think they only judged me like, once."

"No one judges you Dan," I told him, "We're the same now remember?"

"Yes," Dan said confidently, "Let me go order a fancy martini with a name that I probably can't pronounce!"

I laughed as he walked off towards the bar. The night continued in the same way, and everything went really well Nate, Chuck, Blair, Dan, and I all sat together for a few minutes and nothing it wasn't even weird. A Gossip Girl blast went out, just saying that she was excited for summer. Not much happened during the school year, but she kept everyone posted on our whereabouts through the summer.

The end of the night was approaching as guests started having their last drinks before slipping out in the warm night air.

I was saying goodbye to Nate and his mom when Dan walked up behind me. After the Archibald's walked away Dan leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"I know you don't have to stay late to help with anything," he said, "So how about leaving with me right now?"

"Hmm," I said, leaning my back into him, "And where do you suggest we go?"

"Well the loft is out, and you're house will be full of guests that don't want to party the end," Dan said, "But I'm sure that we can come up with something, together."

"Meet me out front in a few minutes."

I ran around saying some last goodbyes.

"Hey mom," I said, walking up to her, "I'm gonna go to Blair's with her and Chuck for a bit, so I may not be home tonight."

Chuck and Blair had already headed back to her house for the night, so I knew that was a safe lie. I had a plan in mind that I knew Dan would hate, but I think under the circumstances he'd forgive me. Within the next ten minutes Dan and I were in the back of a taxi headed to the address I had given the driver.

"So where are you taking me," Dan whispered, resting his hand on my thigh.

"You don't want to know," I told him, "But trust me, once we're inside you won't even care."

"Chuck's hotel."

"What?" I asked, taken aback my Dan's outburst.

"That's where we're going," he said.

"Damn, how do you do that?" I exclaimed, smiling at him.

" I know you," he reminded me, "Why else would you not tell me?'

"I'm sorry, Dan," I said, "But it's the only thing I could think of. And I already talked to Chuck. He called them and got us a complimentary room."

"There were a few disgusting jokes involved thought, weren't there?"

"Oh, always!" I laughed, "But he did give us the room."

"It's ok, really," Dan assured me, "Cause I promise, where we are will be the farthest thing from my mind."

He grumbled sexily in my ear, suddenly I hoped the driver would just park the car and leave.

We made it to the hotel in what felt like three hours after that. I gave the lady at the desk my name in exchange for the key to a suite on the top level of the beautiful hotel.

"Oh, and Mr. Bass left a personal message for you," the lady told me, "He says, 'I gave you one of my personal favorites.'"

I looked at Dan, hoping he hadn't heard that.

"I did," he said, reading my mind again, "And I still don't care."

I smiled and took Dan's hand, leading him to the elevator. And finally, we were falling into the biggest suite in the hotel. I'm sure it was beautiful, but I don't really remember a lot of the decorations. Dan and I were on the bed in no time.

His hands were running along my entire body, as I lay trapped underneath him. I pulled his jacket off and loosened his tie. He looked so sexy like that, especially after I ran my hands through his hair. He broke our kiss for air and I slowly started unbuttoning each button on his shirt. I watched him getting anxious, but slowly seeing his chest form in front of me was something I wasn't going to hurry through. When I was finished he tore of the shirt and rolled me over. His hands found my zipper and he slowly pulled the dress down until I could kick it off. I lay down on top of him, pressing our lips and chests together. His hands untangled themselves from my hair to reach down to the clasp of my bra.

Our hands continued to search each other, remembering all the details we loved most about each other. Our lips meshed together perfectly and he made his way down my neck and down as far as he could go. We then removed the rest of our clothes and continued to cherish every moment we had together.

I rolled over slowly, eyes closed but with a smile on my face. I pulled the sheet that was twisted around me, closer against the cool breeze I felt. I opened my eyes slowly hoping to see Dan staring back at me. He wasn't there.

His suit jacket lay across his pillow, but that was the only evidence of him. I rolled again so I was facing the whole room and pushed by hair out of my face.

"Dan!"  
I heard a noise in the bathroom and the door opened.

"Serena, I'm so sorry," he said immediately. A towel was wrapped around his waist and his hair still looked slightly damp.

"You showered without me?"

A huge smile broke out on Dan's face as he walked over to the bed.

"I feel like such a douche," he told me, "Jenny called me this morning and said I better get home before dad realizes I didn't last night. We're driving out to New Jersey today to see my grandma."

"And you were just gonna leave me here in a strange bed," I said, pretending to be offended, "Classy, Humphrey."  
"Serena, I'm so sorry," he said sitting next to me, "I was going to wake you up thought, I'm not that unclassy!"

"It's ok, Dan," I smiled, "I'd rather you get home before you're late and you're dad has to explain to your grandma why."

Dan smirked, "Good point. Be right back."

He rushed over to the chair where the rest of his clothes were lying and quickly pulled them on. He pulled on his shows and looked in the mirror one more time.

"You look fine," I told him, "If you get home in time, you're dad will never know."

"Wow," Dan said, sitting down next to me again, "I'm sorry I just turned this into a cheap hook up."

"It wasn't," I told him, "Even though you were going to leave me alone in a hotel in nothing but a sheet."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised, "I'll call you tomorrow and we're going out."

"And if I have plans?" I joked.

"Cancel them."

He leaned down pressing a final kiss against my lips.

"Just promise me," he said, "You'll be gone before Chuck gets back."

I laughed happily and pulled him down again.

"Now go," I demanded.

"Serena," he said, leaning over me to get his coat, "I love you."

"I love you Dan."

_And Serena really was ok. She knew Dan, and the fact that he had to get up and leave them so early just made her laugh. She got some complimentary breakfast, why not if Chuck was buying?, took a shower then headed downstairs. It was a perfect morning. But then she stepped out in the morning light, and everything changed._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I had made it home in time, before my dad had suspected anything and we made it to my Grandma's in time for lunch. The only interesting thing that happened was when Gossip Girl sent out a blast.

_Spotted! C and B leaving the party together, early! S and Lonely Boy weren't far behind. Sources saw Lonely Boy leaving a fancy hotel early this morning, but where was S? Could it be, Lonely Boy pulled out the Do 'em and Ditch 'em policy? We thought that was more C's style. S hasn't been seen yet. Is she sulking with N, somewhere? He wasn't even seen leaving the party? Here's one party in a line of many for the summer! You know you love me. Xoxo Gossip Girl._

Jenny had looked up, eyebrows raised . I glared at her, hoping she got the point that it wasn't her business, and thankfully my dad and Granny hadn't noticed.

We were now back at the loft. It was late, but I thought I'd give Serena a call. I was about to hit send when Jenny entered my room.

"Could it be, Lonely Boy pulled out the Do 'em and Ditch 'em policy?" she said, quoting Gossip Girl, "Dan what the hell is that about."

"I really don't want to discuss this with my little sister, "I said rubbing my neck, "Can you just - "

"No Dan," she said, "Don't get all awkward, now like I haven't seen posts about your sex life on Gossip Girl since I was 16."

"Ugh, that's so not right," I replied.

"Dan," Jenny persisted, "Please tell me you didn't break up with Serena again!"

"What?" I asked, "No, of course not. Don't you remember calling me this morning? 'Dan, get your ass home before Dad finds out you aren't in your bed!'"

"Yeah, well I thought you were getting drunk with Nate or something," Jenny told me, "Why didn't you tell me you were with Serena?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked, exasperated, still not sure how she was so comfortable asking me about this, "I was with Serena, ok. But I really didn't want to explain that to dad, or you for that matter, so when you called I explained it to her and left."

Jenny rolled her eyes, prepared to keep grilling me, but I cut her off.

"I really want to call her now though," I explained, "Can you please go?"

She turned and left and I immediately hit send on my phone. It rang and rang and I was about to hang up when her Voicemail answered me.

"Hey, this is Serena!" it said happily, "Leeeave me a message!"

I smiled and decided to leave one.

"Serena, hey," I said, "It's Dan. I know it's late but I back from my family trip and I wanted to talk to you. I guess people think I'm like Chuck now, I feel like such an ass. I can't believe they saw me leaving, but think you're sulking with Nate somewhere. Call me back."

I hung up and tossed the phone next to me on my bed. I had just started changing into a t-shirt and sweatpants when my phone vibrated loudly. One new text from Serena.

I smiled and opened my phone.

"Is this seriously Serena's phone! Holy shit!"

I was confused to say the least.

"Jen!" I called, "Come here."

"Now you wanna talk?" she asked.

"Look at this."

"Oh that's just great," she said, sounding annoyed, "Some jerk found Serena's phone and now that they know it's hers they're probably gonna look all through it. I hope you guys haven't talked about anything dirty recently, cause I guarantee Gossip Girl is about to find out."

"Shit," I mumbled, "And she lost her phone so I can't even give her a heads up."

"Call Nate," Jenny suggested, "Serena might not even know she lost it yet. She'll want to cancel the services."

I scrolled to Nate's name quickly and gave him a call. Again there was no answer. I knew I was desperate, cause next I went to Blair's name and hit send.

"Hello, Humphrey."

Of course, she'd be the one to answer.

"Are you with Serena?" I asked her.

"No," she said shortly, "But if Gossip Girl was right, I wouldn't tell you if I was."

"Come one Blair," I begged, "You know that's not what happened. And this is serious. Some idiot has Serena's phone and I need to tell her."

"I haven't seen her since the party," Blair told me, "I assumed she was wasting a day with you."

Anger washed over me and I slammed the phone shut.

"Call Chuck."

I looked up at my sister, remembering she was still there.

"What?"

"Chuck might know," she suggested, "Maybe he's with Nate or something."

I was really starting to get concerned. No one had talked to Serena all day and even Gossip Girl hadn't seen Nate. I pushed the thought out of my mind. Maybe they were together and Nate just didn't hear his phone. It's not like that bothered me, they've been friends forever. But things were starting to get weird.

"Try calling Nate, please," I told Jenny, "I'll call Chuck."

He answered on the first ring.

"I'm busy."

"Chuck," I said forcefully, "This is serious. Are you with Serena or Nate?"

"I'm enjoying a nice night in," Chuck told me slowly, "I have business to attend to Humphrey."

"Chuck, someone has Serena's phone and neither she nor Nate have been seen all day. Have you seen Nate?"

"No," he told me, "But why didn't you ask if I've seen Serena? We are family you know."

I was about to hang up on him to when Jenny squealed.

"Gossip Girl!" she exclaimed, "Someone found Nate!"

"Hooolly shit," I heard Chuck mumbled.

I grabbed Jenny's phone to read the newest update.

The first thing I saw was a terrifying picture of Nate. He was lying on the ground in some dark alley. His dirty hair was across his face, plastered down with blood. His suit jacket was ripped and he looked unconscious. Luckily, whoever had sent in the picture had enough sense to call the ambulance.

"Still think this isn't serious?" I asked Chuck.

"Meet me at the hospital," Chuck demanded, "And find out where Serena lost her phone."

We hung up and I turned to my sister.

"I have to go," I said, "And no you can't come."

"You really want to spend time alone with Chuck?" she shot me back, "Let me come."

"No," I said again, "You saw that picture of Nate. And if working with Chuck is what I have to do to save Serena from that, I don't care."

"Dan," Jenny said seriously, "Don't jump to conclusions. This might have nothing to do with Nate."

"I have to find out," I said pulling on some shoes, "Explain to dad."

"Dan, I just texted Erik," Jenny went on, "They haven't seen her."

Without changing out of my t-shirt or tying my shoes, I ran out of my house. As soon as I was in the taxi I sent a text to Serena's phone.

"You have to tell me where you found this phone. I don't care what you do with it, but tell me where you found it. Serena van der Woodsen is missing and you may be the only one that can help us find her!"

Within a minute, they replied, "Outside the Bass hotel."

I tapped my fingers on the seat in front of me the whole way to the hospital.

I was running up the steps when Gossip Girl sent another text.

_Not spotted? S! A source from Lonely Boy himself confirmed her disappearance. Who will be her Knight in shining armor? Stay tuned!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Hey guys! Thanks for still reading! Hope you like the new update, hope there's not to many grammar errors, I didn't do a very good proof read cause I wanted to hurry up and post! Tell me what you think/like/predict/etc!**

I had never been so happy to see Chuck Bass in my life. Actually, this was the first time I'd ever been kind of happy to see him. I jogged across the waiting room to where he was standing casually by a door. He was wearing some crazy pair of pants, as usual, and a navy blue suit jacket. I was still wearing my sweatpants and an old t-shirt. At least I had pulled on a nice zip up. But that really didn't matter right now.

"Chuck," I said as I reached him.

He turned slowly still looking calm even though Serena was missing!

"Daniel," he stated.

"Her phone was found outside your hotel," I said quickly, "Someone must have known she was there, and waited for her."

"Oh yes," Chuck said, "Did you have fun in my suite last night? I went all out for my ex-sis."

"Really Chuck?" I asked, "Don't make me regret calling you."

"Like you have anywhere else to turn," he said cooly, "Now are you ready to act like a man and think with your head, or are you gonna distract me with your hormonal state?"

"We just need to find her," I replied, "Why are we here?"

"To see Nathaniel," Chuck drawled, "You don't think it was a coincidence that he was beaten to a pulp the same day Serena went missing?"

"Why would someone who was after Serena beat up Nate?" I asked, "And if they wanted Nate, why would they grab Serena?"

A nurse walked out of the room Chuck was standing next right on time.

"Let's find out."

I followed him into the room where Nate was laying. His hair was a mess and plastered against his head. There were cuts across his face and a bruise overtook his whole left eye. I couldn't see the rest of his body, but it was pretty obvious he was hurting. He was awake, but his eyes were barely open.

"Nathaniel," Chuck said, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to back you up."

"I could have taken them," Nate said, his voice sounded rough and scratchy, "But they just kept coming."

"Don't worry about," Chuck went on, "I know you had a good night before that."

Nate tried to manage a smile.

"Nate," I cut in, "We need to know why this happened."

"I thought you were the sensitive one," Chuck said to me, "My best friend is lying in a hospital bed, show some respect."

I knew he was just trying to get to me, so I took a deep breath.

"Look, Nate I'm sorry," I said, "And if you need anything I'll do it, you can stay with us again, whatever. But Serena's missing, and I need to find her first. She hasn't been seen since this morning outside Chuck's hotel, and Chuck thinks it might have something to do with you."

"Oh shit," Nate mumbled, closing his eyes the rest of the way, "I'm sorry."

"Nate," Chuck said, actually sounding worried, "Are you in trouble? Why didn't you come to me?"

"I can fix it," Nate said, "I don't need help."

It took all I could not to yell at him. His pride always got him in trouble, and right now it was delaying the process of finding who did this to him.

"You don't need to be Nathaniel Archibald in front of me," Chuck said, "We've been through enough shit together. Who did this to you?"

It took a bit more conversation, but we finally got a story out of Nate.

"I'm in some deep shit," he started, "I got mixed into some screwed up stuff. I got high one night. Just once. That's all I was gonna do. But when I was high these guys got me to buy a bunch more. I had it in my room back home and I didn't want my mom to find it so I was gonna sell it. I felt like shit about it, but I had to get rid of it and I didn't want to smoke it all. Apparently I spent a lot of money it. Well the same thing happened to someone else. They got tricked into buying a shitload of weed from these guys and whoever it was turned them in. Somehow the guys found out I was selling their stuff and they blamed me for turning them in. I didn't know they'd go after anyone else. I thought once they beat me to a pulp and stole my wallet they'd be pleased."

It took us a minute to process Nate's story. It still didn't explain why they took Serena, or where she was.

"Why Serena?" I asked.

"I tried to call her," Nate said slowly, "Right before they attacked me I was calling her. Last night after the party I went home with some people but anyway then I was going home and I wanted to talk to someone and...well that's all. She didn't answer."

"Why'd you call Serena?" I asked.

"Not now Daniel," Chuck said, "Stick to what's important."

I clenched my fists, thinking it was important, but I let it go. I really did trust Nate, I was just curious.

"So they assumed Serena was the best way to get to you, and by morning they had her tracked, knew where she was and grabbed her as she left the hotel," Chuck explained.

"She dropped her phone in the process and some douche bag found it," I added.

"He told you where he found it," Chuck stated, "That's more than I would have done if I found a juicy cell phone lying around."

"Ok fine," I said, "But where do we find these guys."

"Do you know anything else about them?" Chuck questioned Nate.

"They obviously never told me where their main base is," Nate explained, "But he said if I ever wanted more I could find them under that shitty bridge on the outside of town."

"Then let's go," I said, without hesitation.

"Calm down," Chuck said condescendingly, "Stay here. I'm going to make a few calls."

Chuck left and again anger flashed over me.

"I'm sorry," Nate said again.

I turned to him, he looked pathetic.

"I'm sorry Serena got mixed up in this," he went on, "I feel like an asshole."

"Nate," I said, "I'm not worried about that. I just went to find Serena and make sure you're not going to be hospitalized again."

"I'll be fine," he said, "They got what they wanted. They're not going to be caught. They have enough money now to get out of anything. And I can't believe I helped them."

"Let's not do this blaming thing," I said, "Just let us help you."

"I'm sorry I called Serena," he went on, "I just don't feel judged when I talk to her. Blair's condescending, Chuck just makes me feel bad about myself because he can get himself out of anything. And you're always such a good guy, it's just embarrassing to say I need help."

"Come on Nate," I said, "I know I can be a little bit judgmental but not with you. You're been through a lot and you're the one guy who wasn't embarrassed to be friends with me a few years ago. We're friends Nate."

"I know man," Nate said, "I just wish I hadn't involved her in this."

"I'm gonna find her," I said, "Unless Chuck just left me here and decided not to help."  
"I know you hate him," Nate said, "But he will find her. And I know it sucks to sit around and let him do everything, but he's your best chance."

"That's why I hate it," I said.

"Which is how I feel when I need help."

"Alright," I smiled, "I get it. Now, is there anything else you know that could help? What would their motivation be to take Serena?"

"To get me to back off," Nate explained, "They're not gonna hurt her."

I nodded then we sank into silence, both thinking about what to do.

Chuck came back in at least five minutes after we stopped talking.

"They have a small hideout in the city, but their main weed house is in New Jersey. They all retreated there early this morning."  
"Then let's go!"

This time Chuck agreed. We said goodbye to Nate then hurried out to the car that was already waiting for us. I hated the fact that I was impressed at how easily Chuck could find out information.

"You really should consider getting yourself a PI," Chuck told me, "They come in handy."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'll buy a few hotels and hire a driver while I'm at it."

"Now you're talking, Humphrey," he said pouring himself a glass of scotch.

I pulled out my phone to call Jenny, I knew she'd freak out if I didn't keep her updated. I then called Mrs. Van der Woodsen and simply told her not to worry and that we knew where Serena was. While I did this Chuck drawled to a few different people on his phone. As I hung up he began to call Blair.

I tuned out as much as possible.

I had told Mrs. Van der Woodsen not to worry, but as every minutes passed by the nerves inside me grew a little more apparent. My head was spinning and my heats were sweaty. We still had an hour drive.

After that agonizing 60 minutes with no one to talk to but Chuck we finally arrived on the street Chuck's "people" had directed him to.

"So," I said, getting even more nervous, "What's your plan?"

"I feel like buying some weed, don't you?"

"What!"

"It's a scheme, Humphrey," he said shortly, "Blair says you're actually good at lying so I suggest you muster every ounce you can right now. We're going to make them let us in and keep them talking. We can't call the cops until we find Serena, so they don't' hurt her."

"And you think the two of us can take on all of the people in that house?"

"Don't underestimate me," Chuck said, "I have back up potential buyers on the way. Once we're all in the house it will be easy for one of them to slip away and find her. The police will be waiting, undercover outside. If any of them ask you how we got involved, these assholes mistook Serena for Angela Winston. A young woman who screwed me over once. Got it?"

I hated the whole thing, but I nodded. Chuck had done enough schemes in the past, I had to believe this one would work. Chuck had his driver park us a street away, it didn't really fit in with the neighborhood.

Five minutes later we were approaching and old falling apart house with nothing but money in our pockets.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

To say it was unnerving was an understatement. As Chuck knocked on the old door my nerves were tingling. I wasn't exactly afraid of whoever was going to answer the door, but knowing that Serena was in with those creeps made my heart pound. I rubbed my sweating hands on my sweatpants, realizing that now I was dressed more appropriately out of the two of us. Chuck didn't really fit in.

A small crack of the door opened, so we could barely see a person standing inside.

"What do you want?" they grumbled.

"I have a few grand in my pocket," Chuck answered shadily; "I suggest you don't pass that up."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Drop the act," Chuck demanded, "I haven't had a good seller in years and I'm getting sick of the cheap shit passed around in the city."

"Who told you about us?"

"You're guys under that old bridge," Chuck replied, "If privacy's your goal you might consider some new employees."

"Who's your friend?"

"My _acquaintance_ is new at this," Chuck lied, "But I assure you, he's just as committed to it as you are."

The guy stared at us through the crack for another minute. Chuck stared back, but said nothing more. Then suddenly the door shut, there was a rattling of chains and it opened again. He opened it just enough so the two of us could squeeze in then quickly locked in back up.

The house looked even worse on the inside. The rooms were full of old, dirty furniture. There was barely any paint on the walls and the stench was tremendous. I hoped to God that Chuck's plan wouldn't take very long. The guy led us into a back room. As we passed a living room I saw three guys lying on couches, looking pretty out of it. There were another two, working in the kitchen.

I had no idea how these guys never got caught. Nothing about their setup was stealthy.

I looked around for any closed doors or staircases but from what I could tell, there was only one level to the house. Before we got to the end of the hallway we had been closed inside a small room.

"What can we do for you?" the guy questioned.

"I have money to pay you now," Chuck said, tapping his pocket, "But my friend here doesn't."

I hated not knowing what Chuck was doing. It took all I had to trust him.

"I brought him here to see if you'd like a new employee."

I'm sure I looked shock, because the guy didn't have trouble believing Chuck.

"So you want in, huh?" the guy asked, staring me down, "Why should I trust you?"

"Uuh," I stumbled, "Why not? I need money and weed. That's the only reason I'm here."

"And to prove we're not messing around..." Chuck said reaching into his pocket.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash. His phone hit the floor in the process.

"Oops."

I watched out of the corner of my eye as he reached down to retrieve it. Casually he hit the send button then slid the phone back into his pocket.

All we had to do now was waste time.

"So how do you do work here?" I asked, deciding to do something, so Chuck had no more reason to heckle me.

The guy chuckled, scratching his ear grossly.

"You won't know that for a few weeks," he responded, "We've been screwed over before. We don't trust easy."

"Good," I said, as gruffly as I could, "I've checked in to other houses and they're all sloppy, and not careful. I can't afford to get caught."

"You've been in before?"

"Once," I muttered, "My 18th birthday party got a little out of hand."

I was prepared to launch into a completely made up story, when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey," another guy said, opening it slightly, "There's someone at the door."

The guy sitting with us got up and walked out, without a word. He was clearly the leader.

"Stay with them."

We heard him grumble.

"Not bad on the lies Humphrey," Chuck said, "But that was the easy part."

The other guy came in the door. He looked less a mess than the leader, but definitely didn't have the brains to run the place.

"So," said Chuck standing up and walking to the other side of the room, "How long have you been working here."

"This isn't an interrogation," the guy answered, "You have nothing on us. And I ask the questions."

I noticed as Chuck moved a little more, that he was forcing the guy to turn his back on one of us.

I looked around frantically for something, anything that would knock the guy out. But there was no time. I heard the main door close.

I got up from my chair and quietly crossed closer to the guy.

"Hey!"

As soon as he turned I slammed my fist into the side of his face.

He fell to the ground, but wasn't knocked out.

He was about to scream, but my instincts kicked in. I threw my foot into his side and he gasped for air. Chuck stepped over top of him, stepping on one of his hands.

"Scream and I will call the cops."

Chuck held his phone threateningly.

"Where's the girl?" Chuck asked, "That's all we want."

"Go to hell," the guy responded, "And get off of me. We have six guys out there! You'd be dead before you could hit send!"

Chuck pulled out the wad of cash again and started dropping bills onto the guy's chest.

"Here's a grand for your silence," he whispered, "And here's another for information. Where is she?"

The guy stared at the money longingly, clearly deciding if that, or continuing to live here was better.

Chuck dropped another few bills on his chest.

"Ok!" he exclaimed, "Last door on the right."

"Give him some more," I chimed in, "To go distract his friend."

Chuck actually listened to me, then grabbed the front of the guy's shirt and pulled him up.

"Go."

He left the room, shoving the money in his pockets.

"They're legit," we heard him mumble to his leader.

"Shut up," the guys responded, "I'm in the middle of a huge business deal."

"How much are you paying that guy that's buying a bunch of shit right now?" I asked Chuck.

"Let's just find Serena."

This time I took the lead. I walked into the crappy hallways and rushed towards the last door on the right. Of course, it was locked.

"Alright Humphrey," Chuck said, "Time to act fast."

He kicked at the old door, and the bang echoed through the hall.

"We're lucky this house is so old," I stated.

Chuck kicked again, this time making a louder noise.

"One more time..." he mumbled.

BANG!  
The door fell open, but the sound was tremendous. We immediately heard the sounds of curious voices floating from the main area.

"I'll check on them," someone muttered.

Chuck and I rushed into the room.

There she was.

Serena was sitting on an old bed that barely had a mattress on it. Her arms were tied behind her on the headboard and her head drooped towards her chest.

Her pants were ripped and the only other thing she was wearing was a loose, ratty tank top. Her hair was knotted and hung loosely around her face and shoulders.

Panic, sadness, and complete and utter fury washed over in wave after wave.

"Serena."

She hadn't looked up when the door banged open, but my voice brought her out of the daze.

Her head snapped up and I could see the hurt and panic, mixed with relief written all over her face. I could see the pain in her beautiful eyes from across the room.

"They're coming," Chuck said, "Untie her, quickly."

"No," I said, as my temper hit the boiling point, "I'll take care of them."

As the first guy entered the room, I turned and punched him as hard as I could without hesitation. I could hear more people rushing down the hallway, and something just took over me.

I had never really fought before but as the image of Serena tied helplessly to the bed burned in my mind, I didn't even hesitate. I continued throwing as many punches as I could.

Luckily, there had been two of Chuck's guys out in the living room and they were helping out.

"Let's go!" I heard Chuck shout.

I turned for a second, just to see that he had freed Serena.

The guys that I had already punched, were still fighting and they weren't just going to let me walk away. Chuck left Serena's side and started hitting the guy who was getting up off the floor.

I barely knew what was going on, but a large crash of glass did register in my mind.

"Come on," Serena whispered weakly.

She had kicked down the window.

I threw one more punch as hard as I could, and rushed towards her. I helped her out of the window, but she had to lean on the house outside for support.

Chuck kicked at the guy that was coming at him and followed me out of the window. He started running towards the car that was waiting for us as I picked up Serena.

Her petite body felt smaller than usual in my arms. She held limply on to my neck and I could feel tears mixing with the blood on my face.

"Dan," she whispered, her voice sounding more fragile and weak than I had ever heard it.

"Ssh," I said, "Serena, it's almost over."

"HEY!" I heard from behind me.

I ran faster.

The guy continued shouting, but I couldn't register any of the words.

"Dan," Serena whispered again, "I love you..."

BANG!

A gun shot.

Everything went black.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

You read about people waking up in the hospital. It's always the same. The soft beeping, the unfamiliar bed, the white room, the pain. All the cliché's I would try to avoid if I was writing about someone in this situation. Until now.

Because not until now did I realize how true every single one of those things was.

It took me a few minutes to become accustomed to the surroundings. It was only after I had comprehended where I was that the pain registered.

I felt weak, bruised. One of my eyes was swollen slightly so it was harder to see. My body was in pain all over, so I couldn't tell if it was anything more serious.

Once I got over the pain, I could focus on the why.

Serena!

I felt my heartbeat pick up and I pushed myself up as best I could.

"Hey!" I called out.

My voice cracked from lack of use.

"Hey!" I said again, trying to be louder.

Apparently it worked.

The door swung open and three terrified looking people rushed in.

"Dan!" Jenny called, "Are you ok?"

She was closely followed by my dad and a doctor.

"Where's Serena?"

"Dan," the doctor said, "She's here, but you can't worry about her. We need to talk about you."

"Am I injured?" I demanded ferociously, "Any broken bones? Gun shots? If not then let me go!"

"Dan," my dad also chimed in, "Calm down. Serena is being treated. And Nate's in the room next door. And Chuck was out in the waiting room refusing to be admitted. So as soon as we know if you're ok, you're going to explain why."

"Tell him I'm fine," I demanded of the doctor.

I knew I was being rude, but the scene of busting the fragile Serena through the window and the confusion of the guns and punches was playing through my head.

"You do seem to be ok," the doctor said, "No broken bones or gun shots. But we can't let you get up yet."

"I'm fine!" I exclaimed, "Nothing even happened to me! I got in a fight, that's all. I don't need to be hospitalized for a few punches!"

Frustration tore through me, threatening to be released on whoever defied me next.

"We weren't sure," Jenny spoke up, "We had no idea what actually happened to you."

"Chuck and I were in this house," I said quickly, "We knew Serena was there so we were rescuing her. She was a mess. Oh God, I have to see her!"

"We know about the house," my dad said, "That's why I need an explanation. Last time I heard the police had arrested six guys for marijuana possession, from the house you were found by!"

"Dad," Jenny said, "Not now! He should be allowed to see Serena!"

I couldn't take it anymore. No one had even told me what happened to her.

I threw the blanket off my lap and slowly swung my legs over the bed.

"Let's see if you can support yourself," the doctor suggested, walking to my side.

He lightly touched my arm which made me more determined to stand on my own.

I still hurt, but I was fine. They had overreacted by putting me in here.

"We'll get you're release forms," the doctor decided, finally, "But you may not be able to see Serena yet. A doctor is still with her."

Finally, I got away from them, out to the waiting room.

There was Chuck.

"Hey Humphrey," he said, "Are you all recovered from those punches?"

"What happened?" I asked, ignoring his rudeness, "Why don't I remember?"

"Well," Chuck drawled, "You hit the ground pretty hard after the gunshot."  
"Did they shoot Serena!"

"No."

For once Chuck answered with a straight answer. Was it possible he was actually not going to be a dbag for a minute?  
"When the gun fired, you and Serena dropped. You must have hit your head on the ground while trying to not land on Serena who was already weaker than she ever has been. Before the guy in the house could fire again the police were shooting back. A bunch of them stormed the house right as the ambulance was arriving. It's pretty self explanatory from there."

"Was Serena conscience?"

"Yes," Chuck replied, "But she looked bad. I don't think she'd eaten much or..."

The thoughts of what could have happen came crashing through my mind. Had they starved her? Beaten her? Or worse...

A sick feeling crept rapidly all the way from the pit of my stomach into my mouth. The sickness was all through me, and I needed to know what they had done to her.

"They all got arrested," Chuck went on, "The police have had tips about them before but have never been able to find or catch them."

I nodded solemnly, then turned away. I walked back to the room where I had woken up and Jenny, my dad, and the doctor were just coming out. All my papers had been signed, and I could go. But there was no way in hell I was leaving.

"Dan," my dad started.

"I can't dad," I said quietly, "Ask Chuck if you have too."

I kept walking until I reached the door to Nate's room.

"Dan!" he exclaimed, "Thank goodness! What's going on? Is Serena ok?"

"I don't know man," I replied, "They won't let me see her yet."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I answered, "I took about half the beating you did."

"I'm so sorry," Nate went on, "This is all my fault. Why would they take her?"

"They had her strapped to a bed," I said quietly, trying not to let the image overwhelm me, "She looked so weak and thin and her eyes...they were hurt and terrified."

"She was only there for a day," Nate said thoughtfully, "How the hell did they break her so fast?"

I could tell he immediately regretted it.

"Dan, I'm sorry," he stammered, "I shouldn't have. I just meant-"

I cut him off.

"It's fine. She will be ok. The guys were arrested. We're all safe."

But truthfully, Nate had only vocalized what I had been thinking the whole time.

Serena was so strong and independent. What did they do to her?

"I never thought Serena would get hurt," Nate went on, "We've been best friends for a long time, and I love her. Like a sister."

"I know," I said back, "And don't worry about that. I'm glad Serena has you as a best friend."

A soft knock at the door interrupted our little moment.

"Dan Humphrey?" a nurse said, opening the door, "I was told you were first on the list to see Miss Van der Woodsen."

I turned quickly.

"Tell her I'm sorry!" Nate called, but I was already rushing out the door.

The nurse led me to the room where Serena was and opened the door.

Her eyes were closed, just as they were when we found her tied to that bed. She was covered in blankets, so I couldn't see what shape she was in. Her messy hair had been pulled back, out of her face and I could now see a few scratches on her cheeks.

She was connected to an IV and a few other machines. The image scared me to death.

"Serena."

I had never whispered so quietly in my life, but she heard me.

Her eyes snapped open and she slowly turned her head to me.

The nurse, who I had forgotten was in the room, slowly backed out and shut the door.

"Oh my gosh," I mumbled.

I stepped forward, throwing myself into the chair by her bed. I reached under the blanket and pulled her delicate hand into mine.

"Dan," she smiled, "Hey."

"Hey," I said back, quietly, "Serena, holy shit."

"Don't be scared," she demanded weakly, "I'm fine. Just a little weak right now."

"I don't even," I started, "Serena, I'm so sorry. I should have found you faster. I shouldn't have left this morning or something! Ugh!"

"Please," she said, "Just tell me what happened."

"They arrested those disgusting jackasses," I told her, "Chuck apparently had cops on his call because they showed up right on time. When that gun went off..."

I felt a soft finger running across mine hand. Damn, I should be the one comforting her.

I quickly broke into the full story of what had happened on our end.

"Nate," she breathed, "Is he...did they?"

"Nate's across the hall," I said, "He's ok. He's blaming himself for this, and he says he's really sorry. But physically, he just got beat up."

"Oh thank goodness!" Serena let out, "Dan, they told me..."

"Serena," I cut in, "I know I shouldn't pressure you, but I really need to know. Can you tell me what happened?"  
I saw emotions run across her beautiful face and my free hand instantly reached out to it. I brushed a loose hair back to its place, and ran my hand gently across the long scratch on her cheek bone.

"What did they do to you?"

Her eyes closed softly as she prepped herself to talk about what happened.

"They came out of nowhere," she started, "I was leaving the hotel and I was going to call Blair. I had my phone out so I wasn't looking where I was going. I don't know how they did it, but within 10 seconds my mouth was taped shut and I was being pushed in to a van. We were in the middle of a New York street, but no one noticed than I was being kidnapped. It started then. We were in the van, driving for a long time. They told me I was collateral damage to send a message. They said I had my friend Nate to thank. And then they told me...they said they'd killed him, Dan. They told me Nate, one of my best friends was laying in an alley somewhere, dead."

The tears had begun to stream as she remembered the feelings when they told her they had killed Nate. I encouraged her to go on.

"Then it got worse," she admitted, "They seemed to think Nate was my boyfriend, but that didn't matter. They knew I had a lot of friends and that someone would come after me. They said terrible things Dan. They just kept going on about everything they would do to a person who came to save me. I think they wanted to make sure I didn't try to contact anyone, and it was working. When I imagined Nate dead, and the thought of them hurting you, cause I knew you'd come."

My girlfriend broke off again, and I moved closer to her, squeezing her hand.  
Not only had they physically hurt her, they had done everything to emotionally abuse her as well.

"By the time we got to their house, I was worn out from sobbing," she told me, "I hated it. I hated looking so weak, but something about the way they talked to me just broke me down. They put me on the bed and tied me down as soon as we got there. I kicked at the guy tying me up and he slapped me...and the rest of it. Well it's a blur. I remember trying to taunt them back. I told them someone would find them and the police were going to come and kill them all. Some of them looked desperate enough that I could flirt some information out of them, but I never got very far. They hit me. When I'd try to fight back or harass one of them, they hit me and..."

Tears were now freely spilling down her face and she broke off with a sob. That nasty feeling was filling me up again as I tried to read further into the expression on Serena's face.

I was basically in the bed now, I needed to be close to her. She flung her arms around my neck and buried her head in my shoulder.

"Serena," I whispered into her hair, "Baby."

She turned her face upward and stared into my eyes.

The bright blue of hers, pierced through the glimmering tears and an overwhelming feeling passed through me.

"I should have done something!" she sobbed, "I felt so weak. Dan,"

"Serena!" I said, full of determination, "Did they rape you?"

Her eyes continued to stare into mine. We were as close as possible without straining the tubes she was on too much. For a moment we simply looked, reading each other.

I couldn't really think or block the buzzing from my ears as I waited...

"No."

"No?" I questioned, warding off the relief that fought to get through me.

"No," she said again, shaking her head, "One of them tried, but the main guy shut him down. I swear, Dan."

But I already believed her. I could see it in her face, and she saw the relief in mine.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I should have tol - "

I pressed my lips onto her, and gently pushed her back into a completely laying position.

"Sssh," I demanded, "I'm so sorry. I love you. But you need to rest. You need to get some more food in your system and you need to sleep."

She nodded and slunk down in the bed, never letting go of my hand.

"Dan," she whispered, closing her eyes, "Don't leave."

I kissed the top of her head, and slid my chair even closer so I could rest my head comfortable beside hers, while still sitting.

I knew my dad and Jenny were out there worrying and waiting for me. And Chuck was probably still out there, doing who knows what. Nate was feeling guilty in the other room, and probably couldn't wait to get out of the bed, and apologize some more. And by now, I'm sure Blair was on her way, ready to raise hell until she could see Serena.

Not to mention Serena's mom, Eric, Nate's mom, Vanessa.

But right now none of that mattered.

Right now it was just Serena and I, helping each other. Being strong for each other. And no matter who came to see her, or what the doctors said, I was not leaving her side.

**Got kinda serious there, but hey it had to happen. Hopefully you guys are ok with the more serious twist and whatnot. Please let me know! Especially so I know if I should add a few more chapters or what.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

I had woken up hours later, in my own bed. Jenny was sitting at my next working on a design and just waiting for me to angrily try to get out of bed. Which I did.

"Why am I not at the hospital?" I had demanded.

Jenny explained that when Mrs. van der Woodsen, Eric, and Blair had arrived they found Serena and I both in a deep sleep. Apparently I had walked out of the hospital, to my dad's car, and into my bed but I didn't remember.

Thankfully I had to do barely any explaining. Nate and Chuck had filled in my dad and though I would normally have wanted to tell him myself, I was glad I didn't have to go through it again.

Anyway, it was now a week and a half later. Serena had been released two days ago but she wasn't allowed to leave her house. I, of course had been spending a lot of time there. But so had Nate, Blair, Lily, Eric, and even Jenny.

"Hey," I said as I walked into her bedroom.

She flashed me her beautiful smile and waved cutely. Serena was propped up on her bed with a blanket lying loosely across her legs. Her cell phone, remote, drinks, snacks, and basically everything she would need were sprawled around her on the bed.

"Is someone else here right now?" I asked, "You've been more popular than usual."

"Nope," she smiled, "Blair just left."

"Good, good," I replied, "I don't like the thought of having to schedule time to be with my girlfriend."

I smirked as I slid into the bed next to her.

"Me either," she replied, "Although Nate did mention something about stopping by so you have to go."

"Liar," I laughed.

"What!" she replied, "I resent that!"

We both laughed and I shook my head.

"I happen to have just gotten off the phone with Nate," I told her, "He's going on a date tonight. So yes, you are a liar."

"I am," she smiled, "Who's he going out with!"

"Why don't you just check Gossip Girl," I suggested, "She'll know more than I do."

Serena laughed again then said: "Well when Blair left here she said something about being with Chuck, so we might actually have a night to ourselves."

I leaned down to kiss her, _knowing_ that we were going to have a night to ourselves.

"Well," I said, "How would you like to get out of your bed?"

"Ooh, a trip to the living room?" she mocked, "Did my mom actually approve of that crazy adventure!"

"Something like that," I replied.

"What, Dan!" she demanded, "Explain yourself!"

"Let me just say this," I replied, "Your mom trusts me."

Serena continued to protest as I pulled her out of bed and grabbed a pair of shoes for her.

"Dan," she chuckled, "I haven't even looked in a mirror today! Are we seriously going somewhere?"

"You look beautiful," I assured her.

Her hair was pulled up and she was wearing stretch pants and a zip up hoodie.

She pulled on the flip flops I handed her and let me lead her out of the room.

"Do you remember what you told me yesterday?" I asked her as we walked to the taxi that was waiting for me, "About how bored you were?"

"Ugh yes!" she replied, "I miss shopping and riding in taxi's and walking places, and eating food from somewhere other than my house and - "

"Sleeping in someone else's bed?" I finished.

"Yes," she said, "I don't know why my mom's acting like I have some kind of contagious disease or something."

"She also doesn't want you to be all over the internet just yet," I explained, "She was hoping this would all blow over before you started going out again so you weren't bombarded by it."

"But poor Nate," she said, "He has been bombarded."

"And he doesn't mind," I said, "He's glad to be taking the attention away from you. He just wants to help."

"So where are we going?" I asked, "My mom wouldn't let you take me anywhere public yet."

"We're not," I said, "But I am going to make all your dreams come true."

We finally reached Brooklyn. I stepped out of the taxi and went to grab Serena's hand. I led her onto the sidewalk and she looked around.

"We're in the middle of Brooklyn," she noted, "What's going on?"

"We're walking to my house," I told her, "Riding in a taxi? Check. Walking places? Check."

"No way," she smiled, "Dan! We're doing all of the things I want too!"

"Yes we are," I smiled, "And we're doing it all here in Brooklyn so no one too fancy sees you."

"That's so mean," Serena said, "I like Brooklyn."

"So do I," I told her, "But your mom approves of a night out on the town as long as it's here, so here we are!"

She stopped me on the street and kissed me roughly.

"So when we get to your house," she mumbled, "Will we be dining with your family?"

"Dad actually has a lot of work to do tonight," I told her, "And coincidently, Jenny is spending the night with a friend!"

We grinned at each other and I interlaced our fingers as we continued to walk down the sidewalk.

When we got to my loft, my dad and sister were, thankfully, already gone.

"Alright come here!" I exclaimed, happily, leading her into Jenny's room, "Time to shop. Anything you want, its yours!"

"What?" she asked, confused again, "But these are all of Jenny's one of a kind designs. I can't take one of those."

I knew Serena wasn't just saying that because she had something against homemade designs, she'd honestly just rather see Jenny put on another fashion show or something.

"Alright," I said, "Then why don't you look over here?"

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto Jenny's bed.

There was a bunch of old jewelry from Jenny's drawer lying across the sheets.

"Hhm," I said, "What do you think about...this one!"

I grabbed a brand new necklace from the pile. It was a beautiful, but simple heart pendant. Not exactly something Lily or Blair would have picked out, but I thought it was perfect for Serena and I.

"Dan, oh my gosh," she breathed, "It's perfect. Did you pick this out all by yourself?"

"I did," I said proudly, "I thought it fit best for us. It's not glamorous, which represents me. It's beautiful, which represents you. It's a heart, which obviously represents how much I love you. And that diamond? Let's say that's for how damn sexy you are."

Serena chuckled and kissed my quickly before I clipped the necklace on her.

"You're adorable," she grinned, "My gorgeous writer!"

I leaned back in for a few more kisses.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, "I feel cheated!"

"Oh yeah," I smirked, wrapping an arm around her again, "Why's that?"

"You gave this to me as a gift, I didn't get to go shopping!"

"Oh no," I replied, "You didn't think this came without a price? Something this amazing costs you at least three kisses and let's say, ten compliments!"

We both laughed some more and she threw her arms around me.

"You're perfect," she grinned, "And I love you."

"We'll count that as two."  
As we started kissing again, there was a knock at the door.

"What the hell," Serena mumbled.

I chuckled, "Calm down."

We walked out to the main area and I opened the door.

"Hey Nate," I greeted.

"Nate!" Serena said, "What are you doing here? Dan said you have a date!"

"I'm on my way there now," Nate smiled, "But first I'm the delivery man."

He handed Dan a bag and they shared a knowing look.

"Bye guys!"

"Explain," I demanded.

"Nate just delivered food from Butter," I told her, "He picked it up for me as yet another way to apologize."

"Butter doesn't do take out!" Serena exclaimed, "None of my favorite restaurants do."

"Don't worry," I laughed, "I took care of it."

We sat down and ate and laughed and loved life. When we finished eating we sat down on my couch and cuddled together under a blanket. We kept talking and watched TV and laughed at the Gossip Girl blasts that were sent out while we were sitting there.

It wasn't until late that night that I told her it was time to check off the last thing on her list.

"You know," I said, "I can't help but to notice we still haven't done one thing on your list."

"I've actually been noticing that too," she smirked, "I never realized how bored I get of sleeping in the same bed until I slept in the hospital for that long."

"I never realized," I started, "Oh screw it. I don't even have a sarcastic remark. Come here."

I pulled her to me and we started making out like we hadn't been able to for days. It took us a few minutes to get to my room and it was great that we didn't even have to worry about shutting the door. We landed on my bed, laughing and kissing and I couldn't control my happiness.

"I love you Serena," I breathed.

"Wow, my mom must have really been pleased with the way things went last night," I was saying to Blair as we walked down the street.

"Serena, no pictures of you surfaced, you came home safely this morning, and you haven't looked better all week," she replied, "Obviously it was good for you to get out of your house."

"Wow, B," I replied, "Did you just compliment Dan?"

"He managed to _not_ get you photographed, if you take that as a compliment, that's up to you."

I laughed, grabbing her arm happily as we walked.

"It feels so good to be out here!" I squealed, "I'm so excited to meet with Nate and Chuck."

"I'll bet Dan's overjoyed too," Blair commented.

"Well, he's friends with Nate and he knows you're my friends so he's ok with it," I said, "I think he and Chuck may have bonded in some really weird and freaky way."

"I guess that's what busting some potheads can do to people," she replied, "You look amazing by the way."

"So do you B," I said honestly.

It felt great to be dressed up with my best friend and I couldn't stop smiling as we walked into Chuck's newest club.

Chuck and Nate were waiting for us at the bar.

"Hey guys," I greeted, "What's up?"

"Drinks," Chuck replied with smirk, "All on the house!"  
We cheered and ordered and started talking.

I tapped my foot along with the music then jumped up.

"Let's dance!"

They all stared at me silently but I insisted. Nate and I slid onto the dance floor, but Chuck and Blair just huddled closer at the bar.

"It's so good to see you out," Nate said, "I just hope no one makes a big deal out of us being here."

"I'm ready," I told him, "To face it and for it all to be over. Let's just have fun!"

"Whoo!" Nate exclaimed.

We danced and laughed for a few good songs before someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Do you mind?"

Nate smiled and backed away willingly.

"Hey Dan," I smiled turning into his arms as he started to dance with me, "You're late."

"Hey baby," he grinned, "And I'm only late cause believe it or not, it was hard to explain to my dad where I was going and with whom. And why, actually."

"I know how you guys feel about Chuck and I know he's a dbag," I started.

"But he's dating Blair who's your best friend and I love you and I'm friends with Nate who's been friends with Chuck forever and we just have to learn to live with each other," Dan finished, "I know. And I'm working on accepting it."

"Good!" I smiled, "Because I think it's a new time for all of us."

"We're like all totally gonna be BFF's now!" Dan joked in an obnoxious voice.

I laughed loudly and looked over at Chuck, Blair, and Nate.

"Well, something like that," I said, "But no matter what, it's you and me."

"I'm so glad you knew back then," Dan replied, "You knew all those years ago when you told your mom not to run away with my dad."

"We're forever," I finished.

**The End!**

**aaaah! I can't believe it, but that finishes up anything that needs to happen in this story. Any more would just be rambling, which I could do, but I'd rather give it some finish. And once again, sorry for spelling and grammar mistakes!**

**sorry it took so long, I was in the musical at my school and for awhile that's all I had time for! Please give me your final thoughts! Thank you so much for reading!**


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